Trailer leveling and truck compression under load

[masolbergrv]

I have a 2017 Eagle HT 29.5 BHDS. Love the 5th wheel. I tow it with a 2009 F250 Diesel. No complaints, as it is a very good combo. My wife and I mostly travel up & down the east coast. I will retire in a couple of years, and we will start heading west towards the mountains. Thinking we will buy a new truck. As I have researched some lately, I have noticed the new trucks are quite a bit taller as many of you know. I know there are lots of things that can go into the leveling equation, but with a stock truck and trailer there are really only two dimensions that count. With wheels properly inflated, and my trailer level, the 5th wheel overhang is at 59 inches. My 2009 F250 has a unloaded bed height of 54 inches. When I hook up it drops to 52 inches, so 59-52 = 7 inches of clearance, which makes it a good combination. Specs from Jayco say I have loaded the truck with 1610 lbs. I can get or measure unloaded bed rail height for any of the new trucks, but can't get any data on loaded bed rail height. Was hoping those of you that have late model trucks might let me know how much deflection you get under the weight of your 5th wheeler. Don't really want to do anything to adjust the 59 inch level height of my trailer. Thanks

[vcbice]

FWIW, my 2017 F250 diesel 4x4 is 58" at the side rails. The 'flip' at the back of the tailgate makes it 59".

Loaded it sinks a few inches, maybe 3? with a 2200lb load (trailer pin weight, hitch, etc).

Maybe if you look for a 2WD it might work for you.

[Watsons]

My humble 2 cents.
The rv manufactures are not taking into consideration the box height of new trucks so there will be some leveling and box clearance issues but nothing catastrophic.
We had the same issue 2 trailers ago and built a sub frame for the suspension to raise the rv. Our last rv was fine but it was a different brand. Now our new Jayco has this issue.
I believe the kick area on some models have more headroom inside which means they drop the floor a couple inches to gain this instead of going higher on the roofline.
Hooked up to a 339FLQS at dealer briefly and had 8" clearance but was 5" nose high.
To ensure we have 8" clearance (we boondock) and ride level down the road it looks like another sub frame job is in order.
We haven't picked up our new 339 yet and loaded it up with goods and water to get final measurements.
Hopefully someone you know has a newer truck that you could borrow to test with. Best of luck..enjoy retirement...we are up soon also

[flyboy1]

Originally Posted by Watsons

My humble 2 cents.
The rv manufactures are not taking into consideration the box height of new trucks so there will be some leveling and box clearance issues but nothing catastrophic.
We had the same issue 2 trailers ago and built a sub frame for the suspension to raise the rv. Our last rv was fine but it was a different brand. Now our new Jayco has this issue.
I believe the kick area on some models have more headroom inside which means they drop the floor a couple inches to gain this instead of going higher on the roofline.
Hooked up to a 339FLQS at dealer briefly and had 8" clearance but was 5" nose high.
To ensure we have 8" clearance (we boondock) and ride level down the road it looks like another sub frame job is in order.
We haven't picked up our new 339 yet and loaded it up with goods and water to get final measurements.
Hopefully someone you know has a newer truck that you could borrow to test with. Best of luck..enjoy retirement...we are up soon also

Watson;
I'm always looking to learn so, wouldn't raising the trailer 7 inches through off your center of gravity? Also, at 7" aren't you worried about overpasses, especially older ones? I've never been able to level either of my FW's.
Tow is a 2011 RAM 2500 4wd diesel and a 18K Pull-rite auto slider. The dealers have always told me that towing with a 3" to 5" slope on the trailer is OK. Haven't experience any difficulties so far. I do have air bags in the rear that I run at 55psi which makes the truck drive like a luxury car.
Thanks

[DonaandDon]

I run an extra leaf and Timbrens. Stifin up a little but I don't worry about blowing a line/shock out.

[vcbice]

Yes, we do not have a problem towing a little nose high.

Yes, overal height can be an issue. I am right at 13' 6" right now so Iam careful about overpasses and such.

I think the RV mfg's are caught between rock and hard place. IIRC they cannot build a rig that is more than 13' 6" high (without AC?). If they want a full height bedroom then it means the floor has to be lower. So, no matter what the truck mfg's do, there is a conflict in design.

What I don't understand is why the truck mfg's have to have such high sides. Is it just a design thing or is there a group of people who buy trucks based on the cu ft of capacity?

[Watsons]

Originally Posted by flyboy1

Watson;
I'm always looking to learn so, wouldn't raising the trailer 7 inches through off your center of gravity? Also, at 7" aren't you worried about overpasses, especially older ones? I've never been able to level either of my FW's.
Tow is a 2011 RAM 2500 4wd diesel and a 18K Pull-rite auto slider. The dealers have always told me that towing with a 3" to 5" slope on the trailer is OK. Haven't experience any difficulties so far. I do have air bags in the rear that I run at 55psi which makes the truck drive like a luxury car.
Thanks

Hi, The center of gravity should be pretty low to begin with as most of the weight is in the frame area and lifting adds more weight there. Shouldn't make much difference. The one we lifted 6" pulled fine (and in some big southern Alberta winds).

This time we are looking at about 5". We are presently 12' 7" (specs, not actual measurement yet) so should only be touching 13' when done. Well within legal limits.

The benefit of being level other than tire wear and looks is we like to be able to leave truck hooked up when stopping over night.
Now..in saying that, we haven't had the self leveling feature before so that might just solve that problem. I'm not sure if it would actually lift the back end 5 inches to compensate with the truck hooked up. Maybe someone has this knowledge??

You might even have room to play with bag inflation. If I recall, I had 35lbs in mine when I briefly pulled a 5th wheel with a F150. (ya ...be careful with that lol)
Possibly deflate so you drop another inch or so?

Either way, like I mentioned, you shouldn't run into anything that's a deal breaker.

Cheers

[Watsons]

Originally Posted by vcbice

What I don't understand is why the truck mfg's have to have such high sides. Is it just a design thing or is there a group of people who buy trucks based on the cu ft of capacity?

I'm with you vcbice. Its a great question.
I think the manufactures want to look the biggest and baddest which disregards sensible thinking.
With the number of SRW trucks between ranchers, farmers and recreational (not wanting SRW flatdecks..) pulling 5th wheels and not able to pull level they should hopefully see this and make a change.
Cheers to the first company that comes out with a 5th wheel option of lower box sides. Only talking max 6 inches lower,

Cheers

[nighthawk87]

Wouldn’t it be cheaper to swap your bed for a flatbed and sell your old bed?


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[Watsons]

Originally Posted by nighthawk87

Wouldn’t it be cheaper to swap your bed for a flatbed and sell your old bed?


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Certainly a cheaper and possibly more functional option but I have never seen a SRW flatdeck that I liked the look of. Now...one should think functionality over looks but gotta draw the line somewhere..
Not knocking the owners who run this set-up, JMHO. Its all personal taste.
Cheers

[camper59]

I am concerned about this also. Just upgraded to a Ram 3500 dually 4x4.Was pulling our 5th wheel Eagle Premier REQS with a F250 being level. Haven't hitched up yet(too much snow) Upgraded to a Curt Q24 puck mounted hitch.

[Shall36]

I have a 2018 29.5 BHDS and tow with a 2WD 2015 GMC Sierra. I have an Andersen on the lowest setting. I have 1” drop shackles on the truck and 15” wheels on the trailer. The combination is dead level. Plenty of bed clearance.

[jal0710]

We own a 2012 GMC HD 2500 D/A combo Crew-Cab and our truck drops one inch when I take the jacks up while the FW is hitched. We ride slightly nose up, but not enough to worry about. I can't tell you from personal experience but I'm not sure you will have a problem. I will tell you the problem that I have, to a small extent, is that my clearance isn't more than 5-6 inches and I have "touched" the bed rail once or twice when backing with the FW turned.